Santa Express delivers smiles

FITCHBURG -- When Santa and his helpers arrived at the Pleasant Street home of Evan and Darius Rodriguez Monday morning, the boys ran toward the door.

"Epic! I always wanted Legos!" shouted Evan, 6, with a grin stretched from ear to ear, as he and Darius, 8, rummaged through the bag of presents Santa brought them.

Their mother, Maria Cruz, expressed many thanks to those who made it possible to help give her children a better Christmas.

"It's beautiful. These people are beautiful," she said. "It's been a hard year. This helps us get over the hump."

As Santa's motorcade, known as the Santa Express, revved up their engines to begin the journey to the next home they'd be delivering presents to, Evan hoisted himself up so he could see over his porch and shouted out one last thanks.

"You all are the best!" he yelled, as the trail of bikers, Fitchburg and Leominster motorcycle police, Fitchburg firefighters, members of the Marine Corps League and the Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School Marine Corps Junior ROTC, and other helpers waved, honked their horns and activated their sirens.

Santa Claus normally delivers presents to boys and girls overnight on Christmas Eve. But he and his helpers came up with the idea three years ago to deliver presents to financially strapped Fitchburg families in person a day ahead, to give these children a Christmas they'll never forget. While his sleigh was being loaded up on the North Pole, Santa was in Fitchburg, riding his second-favorite mode of transportation, a motorcycle.

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He and his helpers assembled at Dippin' Donuts on Lunenburg Street early on Monday, ready to hand out presents to each child they encountered.

At each of the about 12 stops they made, children came running outdoors with their parents to see what the commotion was, and were surprised to see good old Saint Nick himself. Child after child ran to Santa to give him a big hug, and were rewarded with presents from his helpers.

"This is so sweet, I feel like crying," said parent Tracy Blanchard during the convoy's visit to Crescent Heights.

She and her husband, Jay, have four children and another on the way. With rough financial times upon them, they said it was a blessing to have Santa's help with Christmas presents.

During a stop at the Cleghorn McDonald's, Angela Diaz, of Ashburnham, and her two boys, Julian, 1, and Matthew, 8, were surprised to see Santa and his motorcade -- and very happy to receive Hot Wheels and Transformers toys.

"This is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Diaz said.

Helpers came from all ages, walks of life and parts of New England to assist Santa with his deliveries.

"When I was young, we never had this," said World War II veteran Marine Corps Cpl. Arnie Rill, 88, of Lunenburg, who was riding along with the JROTC students. "It's just great, I love it."

Army and Air Force veteran Frankie Mazzei traveled from Agawam to get a bit of the holiday spirit here. Though wheelchair-bound, he quickly darted about the streets in his motorized chair to help hand out presents.

"It's just amazing, seeing their faces, their eyes light up," said helper Shelly Gleason, of Winchendon. "Just to know you made a kid's Christmas touches your heart."

While visiting his grandmother, Rosa Andino, at the Forest Ridge Apartments, 2-year-old Nicholas Ortiz's eyes opened wide with surprise when Santa handed him a tiny John Deere bicycle that was seemingly made exactly for him. Alberto Ortiz, 12, said he knew when they heard the motorcycles and sirens that they should run outside, because he saw what happened last year when a family friend's home was visited by Santa and his helpers on Pearl Street.

Though Santa received most of the attention from all of the intrigued children, he said it takes much more than he alone to make it all happen.

"I'm just Santa Claus," he said, as he looked out with a smile over the throngs of happy children clamoring for toys at Green Acres, the last stop in his Christmas Eve journey in Fitchburg. "It's all my helpers that make it possible."

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